Australia-Indonesia relations: Key events

2015: Tensions between Australia and Indonesia come to a head when it is alleged Australian officials paid people smugglers to take asylum seekers to Indonesia.

2015: The executions of Australian drug smugglers Andrew Chan and Myuran Sukumaran sparks international outrage. Australia withdraws its ambassador to Indonesia.

2013: Hopes of a renewed relationship following the election of Tony Abbott are quickly dashed when documents obtained by the ABC and Guardian Australia reveal Australian intelligence attempted to listen to then-president Susilo Bambang Yudhoyono's phone calls in 2009.

2011: The Federal Government suspends live cattle exports after a Four Corners episode reveals inhumane slaughter in Indonesian abattoirs.

2004: Relations are boosted when Australia provides $1 billion in aid and interest-free loans to Indonesia in the wake of the Boxing Day tsunami.

1999: Relations are strained when Australia intervenes in East Timor, helping secure its independence from Indonesia.

He said Australia's relationship with Indonesia was at its "lowest point" in many decades.

"Some of these turnback issues have created tension between our nations and this is a direct result of the policies of the Abbott Government," he told Sky News.

Australian-Indonesian relations were thrust into the spotlight after people smugglers told Indonesian police they had been paid thousands of dollars by Australian officials to turn around a boat carrying 65 asylum seekers which later ran aground on a reef.

The Government has refused to confirm or deny the reports, citing operational matters and national security.

Prime Minister Tony Abbott spoke about the Government's asylum seeker policy in an address to the New South Wales Liberal conference on Saturday morning.

"Yes, we had to be firm. Yes, we had to be prepared to take some risks. Yes, we had to be prepared to be unpopular, but I tell you what, we had to be prepared to stop the boats and we were," he said.

Mr Abbott went on to point out the Opposition had attacked the Government over reported payments to people smugglers but refused to reveal whether similar payments were made under previous Labor governments.